Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing field that is changing the way we live and work. AI has already impacted many areas of our lives, and its potential impact on education is significant. Not just significant, it could be HUGE. When we heard that you can ask AI to go ahead and type your assignments for you using an app called Chat GPT, this was exciting and disturbing all at once!
What is Chat GPT?
Chat GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a language model created by OpenAI, designed to simulate human-like conversation by generating coherent and contextually relevant responses to human requests. It is based on the transformer architecture, which allows it to process sequences of words or tokens and learn complex patterns in language data.
Chat GPT is trained on vast amounts of text data from the internet, enabling it to generate responses that can be remarkably human-like in their tone, style, and content. Its ability to understand the nuances of language and generate realistic responses has made it a popular tool for natural language processing applications such as chatbots, virtual assistants, and automated content creation…cue students.
When I typed in to Chat GPT “ Write a short blog on the pros and cons of using Chat GPT for writing school essays in secondary education” it took less than 60 seconds to generate this response…
Chat GPT is a powerful language model that has revolutionized the way we interact with machines. With its ability to generate human-like responses and coherent text, it has become a popular tool for various applications, including writing essays. However, as with any technology, there are pros and cons to using Chat GPT for writing school essays in secondary education.
Pros:
- Time-saving: Writing an essay from scratch can be time-consuming, especially for students who struggle with writing. Chat GPT can help save time by generating text that can be used as a starting point for an essay.
- Improved Writing Skills: By using Chat GPT, students can learn new writing techniques and improve their vocabulary. This can be beneficial in the long run as they will be able to write better essays on their own.
- Accessibility: Chat GPT can be accessed from anywhere, as long as there is an internet connection. This makes it convenient for students who may not have access to writing resources.
Cons:
- Lack of Originality: The text generated by Chat GPT may not be entirely original, which can lead to plagiarism. It is essential to ensure that the text generated by Chat GPT is properly cited and referenced.
- Limited Understanding: Chat GPT lacks the understanding of the context and meaning behind the essay prompt. This can result in an essay that does not fully address the question.
- Over-reliance: If students become too dependent on Chat GPT, it can hinder their ability to develop their writing skills. It is crucial to use Chat GPT as a tool for improvement rather than a replacement for writing skills.
In conclusion, Chat GPT can be a valuable tool for writing essays in secondary education. However, students should use it responsibly and with caution to avoid plagiarism and over-reliance. Teachers should also educate their students on how to use Chat GPT properly and ethically to ensure that they develop their writing skills.
As you can see this is a relatively well put together and well-researched piece of content (it’s me again now, not the AI!).
When using AI a big problem lies in that you can not be certain that you have covered all bases as the app only works on the data it finds in relation to your request. A human always needs to check over what has been written for this reason, as well as to add a personal touch. Why? You will not have a human ‘voice’ attached to the article; it will be direct, informative and accurate (as far as possible) but it will not project emotion or feeling. It will emanate a robotic-ness to it as there will doubtfully be empathy or human understanding nestled in the wording; you will not experience humour, surprise, or a personal opinion.
This wasn’t just a sneaky way of avoiding writing this blog myself, I wanted to test the skills of the AI by ironically making it tell me its own pros and cons!
I personally think it can be a very useful tool, and, being still in its toddler years, I am sure many of the cons will be approached and eradicated in time. However, a huge concern is that the human desire for knowledge, learning and understanding through research, that which makes us human, will get drowned out by the simplicity of asking something else to do it for you. It may breed laziness and ignorance, so we must ensure that it is only used as a tool, not a replacement for learning for ourselves. Anyone remember WALL-E?
It will doubtfully be a good outcome for the human race if we come to depend on AI for our opinions, decisions and answers to everything. We need to remain autonomous yet intelligent with our usage of AI, and remember who is boss! Then, I believe it will be an incredibly useful technological asset.
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